Since the first report of a superconductor material having a superconducting transition temperature of about 40K, there has been extensive activity in the field to develop materials having an even higher range of superconducting transition temperatures. A wide variety of superconductor materials having high transition temperatures have been reported, including superconducting materials comprising yttrium, barium, and copper which have transition temperatures greater than about 80K. Thin film superconductors based upon these yttrium, barium, and copper compounds have been prepared by sputtering, E-beam and laser evaporation, all techniques requiring vacuum processing. As new materials with ever increasing transition temperatures are sought and developed, it is desirable to have a means for preparing thin films of these superconducting materials which uses non-vacuum techniques, permits easy alteration of chemical components, and is compatible with other film processing techniques.
Metallo-Organic Deposition (MOD) is an entirely nonvacuum method of film deposition. Typically, a liquid solution of organic compounds is prepared by dissolution of the organic compounds in a suitable solvent. This solution is then applied much in the same manner as photo-resist, as by spin coating the organic solution onto a selected substrate material. The soft metallo-organic film is then heated in air or oxygen to burn out the organic components and produce a thin film. By utilizing non-vacuum processing techniques, the Metallo-Organic Deposition method provides an economical means for film preparation of semiconductor materials. In addition, the ease in which compounds of a variety of elements can be made allows a wide range of multi-metal compounds to be prepared.